1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to apparatus for neatly organizing a variety of objects and more particularly to an apparatus which neatly holds a plurality of flexible lines in conjunction with an exterior structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The subject matter of this invention will be discussed primarily in conjunction with flexible lines in the form of fluid-conducting tubes that are commonly used within the medical profession. However, it is considered to be within the scope of this invention that the apparatus of the invention could be utilized in conjunction with lines other than tubes, such as for example electrical wires.
During the course of medical procedures, a human patient is often infused simultaneously with a plurality of different medications and fluids. Those medications and fluids are fed into the patient through tubes. Additionally, catheters are frequently utilized to monitor body functions. Many of these catheters, fluid-conducting tubes and even monitoring lines are placed on the patient even prior to when the patient is transported from a surgery area to a convalescing area. These different lines have a tendency to become entangled, making it difficult for attending physicians and nurses to ascertain which line is being utilized for which purpose. At times certain medicines are injected into a fluid line. Extreme care has to be exercised to make sure that the right medicine is being injected into the correct line. This problem of confusing lines and catheters entering a patient's body is accentuated under emergency conditions. There is a further problem and that is that excessive stress is caused on the lines themselves which can cause the lines to become disconnected. The foregoing problems increase the risk of patient injury by either infusing medicine or blood at the wrong entry site, or by failure to infuse needed medications.
This entanglement of the different lines is exceedingly common in the hospital room while the patient is recovering from a surgical operation. This entanglement is caused primarily by the patient moving around in either a conscious or unconscious condition. There is a need within the hospital room to construct a device to which the different lines that are connected to the patient can be located, with this device keeping the different lines separate and unentangled and also making it easy for the physician and nurse to determine which line is which.